A Shock to the System
by Michiyo Ichimaru
Summary: Klavier is in a terrible accident and gets admitted to the hospital under the suspicions that he won't make it the night. Although they can't reach any family, they call in the next best thing, and Apollo waits it out with him. A/K - from the Kink Meme -


A Shock to the System

**A Shock to the System**

**By Michiyo Ichimaru**

A/N: Another Kink Meme favorite of mine that I wrote a while back. I usually don't write stuff like this, but I've been trying to do some different things lately to expand my writing skills. I hope you enjoy it anyway.

**- beep - beep - beep -**

It wasn't as steady as it should have been. There were lapses that the doctors were desperately trying to fill. All of them were in a frenzy, because… if they let him die, they'd probably never be able to save their reputations. Pictures were taken. Five serious veterans were sitting around them, analyzing the damage and trying to make a plan while the nurses scattered, trying to slow the blood-loss. He faded in and out of consciousness, and it never lasted for more than a minute. One of the newer members was there trying to feed him encouragement while he was awake, as well as file out the necessary paperwork while his co-workers went to action.

_**Klavier Gavin, age 24… Admitted at 11:45 P.M. into intensive care via Ambulance. He was found at the scene of a terrible accident on the turnpike. A truck overturned when its driver fell asleep at the wheel and drove into a stone wall. The uneven ground caused it to tip, badly injuring the driver and the motorcyclist behind him.**_

_The first diagnosis was made at 11:50… Dr. Gevallis said he wouldn't make it the night._

It was shortly after the first diagnosis that he started fading in and out of consciousness. Then they made a second diagnosis. If they could keep him awake long enough, he might be able to fight through the night. They thought if he lived that long, they'd be able to save him. But so far… they hadn't had any luck in keeping him awake. The first blood transfusion was being prepared, and, paperwork filed, the newer doctor was asked to call for some sort of relative, to alert the family of his condition.

Turned out that the only person in the country they could find was behind bars, charged with murder. She called the prosecutor's office and the Chief Justice gave the doctor the next best number: that of the Wright & Co. Everything Agency.

Apollo groggily searched for the phone, lost under all the junk Mr. Wright had scattered everywhere. At the last moment he grabbed it and answered it as quickly as possible. "Hello, Wright & Co. Everything Agency, Apollo Justice speaking." He had learned a great sense of professionalism that he made sure to use at all times, thanks to his previous mentor, even though he was dead tired.

"Hello, Mr. Justice. This is Doctor Inari speaking. We were trying to contact the family of Klavier Gavin, but it seems that you and Mr. Wright are the closest thing he has to family at the moment."

For a moment, Apollo's heart didn't sound any better than Klavier's. "W-What happened?!" he asked, professionalism thrown aside. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach. There were many times they told Mr. Gavin he shouldn't work so late into the night. So many terrible things happened in the black of the night, and now… Apollo clutched at his chest until he could feel it bruising, as he felt pessimism sinking in.

"He was admitted about fifteen minutes ago after a terrible traffic accident. We've begun treatment, but it doesn't look promising. We're very sorry, but… after the transfusion has begun, you are welcome to visit him. He is going in and out of consciousness. A friendly face might help him. The more we can keep him awake, the better, Mr. Justice. But I'll let you know… we haven't completely given up all hope."

_Completely?_ Apollo's face was contorted so tightly that it stung. He couldn't see past the massive tears pooled in his eyes. "Y-y-yes… of course I'll be there." He said, aware that his voice was cracking. When he tried to hang up, he realized just how badly he was shaking. The best he could do was grab his wallet and run out the door to catch a bus, there was no way he could bike there in his condition.

Everyone stared…

He drifted off again, just as Dr. Inari returned. "It's getting worse. His blood pressure is rapidly declining! We need to get that blood transfusion started as soon as the stitches are complete, do you hear me?!" Dr. Gevallis was practically shouting at the top of his lungs. Everyone was dancing around him to follow his orders; one of the nurses had even dissolved into tears. "Inari! Get me a reading on all his vitals and keep monitoring them! I think his heart might be failing from the extra stress and output pressure!"

The crying nurse came over to Dr. Inari and agreed to record. "T-the last time he was awake, sir, he said he was very dizzy…" she reported, since observation was Inari's duty. Inari nodded and checked his pulse for the pressure beneath his neck and on his wrist. "It's strongest at his wrist, which may very well mean that it was mostly vital blood routes that were severed. The smaller ones seem to have better control over blood output." He said to himself, thinking back on what he knew. The nurse hurried to write his every word.

Apollo arrived almost half an hour later, panting. The bus had dropped him off at the main gate, and he literally sprinted all the way to the room. It had seemed so quiet the whole way there. He was surprised to hear all the sounds coming from Klavier's room, and alarmed. Sitting down on the bench, he impatiently waited to hear something from the men and women inside.

"All the main openings have been closed and disinfected, sir!" The surgeon said, throwing away his needle and cleaning his gloves. Dr. Gevallis smiled curtly and nodded.

"Alright then, get ready to start the blood transfusion!" Two nurses did the job. Dr. Inari instructed the nurse recording his vitals to make a new column and to check both spots every half an hour. "If he's here, you can let Mr. Justice in. We're going to check with the main desk and update the paperwork you did, Dr. Inari. If you need us, call me and I'll get everyone here. I want called at the first sign of his condition worsening, do you hear me?!"

Dr. Inari nodded. "Of course, sir."

"Mr. Justice… you can come in and see him now." Dr. Inari said; stepping out after all the other doctors and nurses had gone, save for the nurse working with him. "I warn you, though… if he wakes, don't stress him too greatly. He's in a bad position, and any further pressing might be pushing it too far." Apollo nodded mutely and followed him into the room.

The lighting was strange. All the main lights were turned off, but the doctors had turned on a number of smaller lamps pointed where they needed them. The light reflected grimly across the room and Klavier's face. Apollo felt the bile in his throat rising, threatening to spill over. He could see that they had just finished. Although everything was kept spotless in true germ-killer fashion, it didn't hide the gruesome truth.

On the operating table was a cleaned off piece of metal. Apollo didn't need a doctor to tell him that it was a motorcycle stand. It was thicker than his bicycle one, but much the same. Except… from the stitches across Klavier's stomach, he knew that before, that piece of metal had been stuck inside him. Covering his mouth to try and hold the repulsion inside, he slowly crept up closer to get a better look.

He looked too pale. It was almost as if he had lost all the effects of his tanning and some. Apollo hated it. This wasn't a beautiful pale either… it was a ghostly, sickly look.

The door clicked, and the nurse walked in. Dr. Inari had already gone. Apollo watched her take down more information. He wanted to ask, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to face the truth for once. If he was as bad as he looked, then… no, he decided he wasn't ready to know. She kept looking over at him nervously, and then finally smiled. "U-umm, Mr. Justice, right?" she asked, putting the tablet under her arm. Apollo nodded mutely, his face still glued on Klavier's.

"I don't know if this means anything, but… my sister works on the ambulance that brought him here. When they found him, they had almost no hope whatsoever. I know it looks bad now, but… he's surpassed what a lot of people thought would be his limit. Dr. Gevallis is the best doctor there is, and although he said at first that he'd die before the night was over, Mr. Gavin made him change his mind and his diagnosis of the situation. That's saying something! He's… not going in and out anymore… I only hope that means he's resting peacefully so he can see you when this is all over." She smiled, stealing away before he could thank her.

Apollo smiled briefly, thinking that somehow, that sounded just like something Klavier would do even in full consciousness. Klavier was always surpassing everyone's expectations, being so cool and never giving up. That's why this felt so horribly wrong. It wasn't a situation he should have ever been in, Apollo thought, gently moving his hair away from his face.

"G-gehnnnn… dun do that, Herr Jussticce."

He almost screamed. Klavier was moving slightly, mumbling. He was conscious! Apollo smiled, feeling suddenly relived. "Klavier!" he shouted, louder than he had intended to. "S-sorry!" he apologize immediately when he saw Klavier cringe.

"Heh he he. It hurts to laugh, Herr Forehead. My stomach feels void and my head feels like it's filled with water. Every time I open my eyes, I feel like I'm going to vomit. So… how was your night?" he said, grinning.

Apollo instinctively hit him on the shoulder angrily. "Don't be so stupid! How do you think my night is?"

"Owww… my stitches… don't hit them, ja." He said, wincing. Apollo hadn't realized it, but it wasn't just his stomach that was stitched. Both of his shoulders had stitches in them as well as his cheek and the lower half of his right arm. "I suppose I should be grateful just to have you here, ja? You aren't really obligated to since you're not really family."

"Oh? And who would if not me?!" Apollo fumed. "I swear you're so damn clueless sometimes, for someone so intelligent! They called me because they found out no one in your family COULD come see you." Tears were welling up in his eyes again. He didn't want to yell at him, but he felt so frustrated. How could Klavier be so calm?

Klavier's breath caught in his throat and the beeping machine, that Apollo had just now noticed, was making an odd stammering sound. The nurse came running in with Dr. Inari. She was checking his vitals again and the doctor was calling someone. Coving the receiver, Dr. Inari said, "You should go wait outside. His heart is starting to falter… it may very well be failing. We'll keep you updated." But then he turned away and ignored Apollo's distraught face.

_'Did I… did I cause that?'_ Apollo followed Inari's orders. As soon as he had the door closed, he broke down sobbing against the wall opposite his room. He didn't make it to the bench, he merely slumped to his knees, racked with sobs. The doctors were running in again. He vaguely heard their panicked voices and the sound of the door slamming open and shut every so often, but it didn't feel like it was really only five feet away. But it was, and… and… Apollo's chest burned with the intensity of his heaving chest.

It might have been minutes or it might have been hours. Apollo had passed out against the wall, deep in tormented thoughts. He should have known better to mention his family. He felt so stupid… so useless… he felt heartbroken. Even though he had shouted out of frustration, that wasn't the point. He had never meant that to be the point. The point was always that he considered Klavier part of his family, and that he wasn't alone, even though he lost Kristoph. Apollo wanted him to know he had someone out there who was on his side…

"Please don't die, please don't die, please don't die…" he chanted over and over, even in his half-unconscious sleep-like state.

There was someone tapping on his shoulder…

He slowly turned around, unaware of his surroundings completely. It was Dr. Inari and the nurse from earlier. "It's not good, but he's stabilized again." The doctor said, helping Apollo up and leading him over to the bench. "But… after that, I was sure he would completely lose all the progress we made. Yet, he seems to be holding on. If you can handle it, you can go see him again."

Apollo didn't need encouragement. He had almost lost Klavier right then. Now he knew he HAD to tell him what he had meant to in the first place. "He's fallen back into an unconscious slumber, but I'll leave you two alone anyway." The nurse said, turning and closing the door behind her.

Sitting in the chair by the bed, Apollo reached out and gently took Klavier's hand. "I… I'm sorry." He confessed. "It's just… I get so mad when I think about what he did to you, causing you all that pain. It makes me so mad, because… maybe you don't realize it, but you're part of our family, too. And sometimes you don't see it and you don't think of it that way, and it makes me… upset. Why is it that you don't? Is blood really what makes a family connected to each other in your mind? You say I'm not obligated to come here and… you sound like you think I might consider it some sort of burden."

He started caressing the freezing, pale fingers, wondering if he could rub some warmth back into them. "I couldn't NOT be here. Hell, it feels horrible watching you, but I would hate myself if I wasn't here for you. If… something were to happen to you because of something I said…" his voice was taken over by sobs again, and not even his "Chords of Steel" could overcome the sheer agony.

The beeps sounded… further apart than he remembered. He didn't know what the change meant, whether it was good or bad, and he didn't like it. Apollo felt like he was groping blindly in the dark for answers he couldn't have, and he just had to watch, as the anxiety crawled up, over, inside of him, through him; strangled him with horrible emotions.

He slumped over, resting his head on Klavier's hand.

"Did'ja say sometin', Forehead?" Klavier said, groggily. Apollo jumped up in shock and gasped. His eyes were slanted, but he was looking at him with a smile on his face. Smug or not, Apollo loved it.

Smiling back, Apollo laughed, wiping away all the tears that hadn't already dried on to his face. "A-ah ha ha. No, it was nothing." He said, shaking his head. Klavier chuckled.

"I guess I'm not going to die this time, eh Forehead?"

Apollo frowned. "No. It's not, "I'm not going to die…" it's "I can't die…" right?"

"That's right, Apollo. Not yet… not yet."

**Klavier Gavin, age 24, released two days later with the stipulation that Apollo Justice would be his care-giver for the next week, at the Wright & Co. Everything Agency.**

Signed, Dr. Inari


End file.
